2 min readNew DelhiOct 4, 2018 01:35 AM IST
First published on: Oct 4, 2018 at 01:35 AM IST
11 children died due to diptheria between Sept 6-19. (File)
The Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital (MVID) has no blood bank, ambulance, X Ray, intensive care or high dependency facilities for sick patients; and the Operation Theatre (OT) services are non-functional, according to the report prepared by a committee formed to probe lapses that led to the death of 11 children due to diphtheria between September 6 and 19 at the hospital.
The report tabled in the House meeting of North corporation on Wednesday has been prepared by senior doctors of RML Hospital, Kasturba Gandhi Hospital and senior officials of the corporation. “The diphtheria wards were poorly lit, proper isolation facilities were not available, intravenous infusion pumps and contagious cardiac respiratory monitoring facilities were not available and there were no intensive care or high dependency facilities for sick patients,” the report said.
Also, anti-arrhythmic drugs (used to treat abnormal heart rhythms), tracheotomy (an incision in the windpipe made to relieve an obstruction to breathing) were not available, it states. The hospital did not have any anti-diphtheria serum (ADS) since November last year, which was procured only after the intervention of the Union health ministry.
The report also said that OT services are non-functional and only five general duty medical officers are posted in MVID. “They have to provide busy OPD services in addition to in-patient services,” the report said.
While the report said that the medical superintendent (MS) did not make adequate arrangements to ensure patients were administered with ADS and the magnitude of the problem was not communicated, the Congress and AAP said he was being made an “easy target”, and that the mayor and commissioner should resign. The medical superintendent was suspended on September 26.
11 children died due to diptheria between Sept 6-19. (File)
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